Typographical distributing machine



Dec. 22, 1925- E. MORRISON TYPOGRAPHI CAL DISTRIBUTING MACHINE Filed May 29., 1925 E, www

INVENTOR Patented Dec. 22, 1925.

UNITED PATENT orsi-CE.

LUTHER E. MORRISON, or Vmnt Yonx, n. Y., AssreNox'f'r'of nmtennfitnnrnn LINO- TYPE COMPANY', 1ik -conroaArIoNgor' Naw romy` rrroelmrnrcnr.- nisrn'rmrnte mismas.

nppncatiun nien nay 1925,. .serisu Noi-,gana f i. l

To all whom it may concern: y D Be it known that I, LUTHER E. M onRrsoN, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York, inthe countyand State of Newr York, have invented certain new and Ausef-ul Improvements in -lypographical 191stributing Machines, of which thefollowing is a specification. v

vhis invention relates toV typographical distributing machines, such as linotype machines of the general organ-ization represented in Letters Patent of the United States, No. 436,532,- to O. ,Mergenthalen wherein circulating matrices are releasedA from a magazine in the 'order in Which-theirv characters are to appearinprintand then assembled in line, the composed line transferred to the face vof a mol-d, the mold filled with molten metal to form a slug or linotype against thematrices which produce the type characters thereon, and the matrices thereafter returned through distributing mechanism to the magazine, from which Y they started. f

More particularly, it relates to the' distributing mechanism employed in such machines, which lmechanism compri-ses generally kone or more distributor bars whrchefl fect the release ofthe matrices at different points for return to their proper magazine channels, a set ofl rotatablescrews for conveying the matrices along the distributor bars until .they reach their proper point o f release, and a reci rocating fingeror similar means operatedpin synchronism with the screws so as to feed the matrices thereto one at a time at each .rotation thereof... For many years, the machines were equipped with quarter-inch pitch conveying screws,- but'in vrecent years they have been equipped with screws of the form lset forth inthe Rogers Patent No. 1,137,024, and .which in practice are givena half-inch pitch- The advantages of this latter type'of yser-,ew are fully set forth in the RogersV patent and need not .be repeatedk here, although ift may be stated thatthe half-inchpitchfconsiderably increases the speed yofdistribution' of the 'matrices and also serves tok keep rthem separated from eachv other :duri-ng their travel along the vdistributor bars, as well as to prevent interference between them `at the time of their'release, vthus yenebli'ngthe distributing meclnmismto` handle matrices of greater .thickness than-was theretofore possible.

`The present inventionis directed to certain improvements whereby the distributing mechanism ymay be equipped with the old type lof quarter-inch pitch screws and stillk possess'th'e various advantages of the iml proved half-inch pitch screw above .referred to, aswell as other ladvantages whichvare inherent 1n the use of screws-of the old type. To this end, it is proposed vto speed up th'escrews so that they will rotate twiceas fast as usual, say about 600 R; P. M., and to operate the matrix' feeding finger at every other rotation of the screws, instead` of at each rotation thereof, as before, so as topreserve the usual rate of feed of jthe matrices. InA ,the embodiment illustrated, this is accomplished by mounting the operating cam for` they matrix feeding finger on a separate stub shaft'extending parallel to one ofthe screw spindles, and by connecting the stub shaft andy screw spindle by means of a reducing gear-set which wir-ll causefthe l l cam to rotate at half the speed of the screws. Accordingto this arrjangement,it1will be clear that. the matrices, whether thick. or thin, will be fed to the screws regularly and uniformly at Yevery l'other rotationthereof and hence will be engaged by lthealternate convolutions of the screws as-they are carried along the vdistributor bars. In' this way, the matrices will .always be maintained at a half-inch distance apart and this without slowing up their regular rate of feed to the screws; and,moreover,due to the increasedspeed of rotation ofthe screws, the matrices willbe carriedalong the distributoribars'attwice the speed previously attained in, the case of qi-ia-rter-inch pitch screws. It'will now be seeny that, by the simple expedient above, indicated, the old quarter-inchipitch screws may be adapted tothe new conditions without sacrificing any ofthe important advantages ofthe improvedv half-inchpitch screws. Furthermore, in. thecase of the quarter-inch pitch screws, .owing .tothe slight angularity or morel nearly" vertical location of the screw l tor bars, .and.:besid es, .afford the ymatrices Y greater` clearance when they drop from the distributor bars. These and other advantages will be readily understood by those skilled in the art.

In the accompanying drawings, the invention has been shown only in preferred form and by way of example and as applied to a distributing mechanism wherein the matrices are fed to the distributor screws by the ordinary matrix lifting linger. However, it may also be adapted to other forms of distributing mechanism, such as that embodied in the commercial Model 9, wherein the matrices are fed by gravity to the distributor screws under the control of reciprocating pawls or -escapements It should be understood, therefore, that the invention is not limited to any specific form or embodiment, except in so far as such limitations are specified in the appended claims.

ln the drawings:

Fig. l is a rearelevation of a portion of a linotype distributing mechanism embodying the present improvements; and

Fig. 2 is a vertical, transverse section, taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

As usual, the matrices X are transferred in line from the second elevator A into the distributor box C by the shifter slide B, which pushes the line through the box and up against the stop shoulders C1 formed on the extensions C2 of the box rails C3. The stop shoulders C1 are disposed in the same vertical plane and are arranged to arrest the foremost matrix of the line directly above and in the path of a reciprocating pawl or linger D, which is adapted to lift the matrices, one after another, above the arresting shoulders C1 and into the range of action of the distributor screws E. These screws are geared together in the usual way and cooperate witli the projecting ears X2 of the matrices to advance them across therail extensions C2 into engagement with the distributor bar C4, and thence along the same until they are released above their respective magazine channels. As shown, the lifting iinger D is carried at one end of a bell crank lever F pivoted at F1 to the distributor box C and provided at its other end with a roller F2 cooperating with a constantly rotated face cam G against which it is normally held by the pull spring F3.

As before stated, the distributor screws E herein employed are of the o-ld quarterinch pitch type, but according to the present invention, they are rotated at twice the ordinary speed or about 600 R. P. M., which may be done in any well-known way. Moreover, the cam G, instead of being attached directly to one of the screw spindles, as customary, is now fastened to the end of a stub shaft H, mounted in a suitable bearing H1, and connected to the spindle of the rear screw by means of a reducinggear `arrangement comprising a small gear E2 on the screw spindle and a large gear H2 on the stub shaft. In the present instance, the speed ratio of the gea-rs is 2:1, so that the lifter cam will be rotated at the ordinary speed of about 300 R. P. M., or at half the rate of rotation of the screws. It is also pointed out (see Fig. 2) that the upper end of the pivoted lever F is offset sufficiently to bring its roller F2 in position to cooperate properly with the cam Gr, so that the latter may actuat'e the lifting finger D in the customary way.

As a result of the foregoing arrangement. the matrices will be fed to the screws at every other rotation thereof and advanced along the distributor bar by their engagement with alternate convolutions of the screws, which thus maintain them the proper distance apart and prevent interference between them as they are released from the bar.

Although the lifter cam is operated at half the rate of speed of the screws, the feed of the matrices to the screws will be carried on at the usual rate of 300 per minute, due to the increased speed of rotation of the screws. This increased speed of rotation of the screws also has the eifect of speeding up the travel of the matrices along the distributor bar and thus hastens their distribution to that extent. Of course the speed of rotation of the screws may vary widely without affecting the principle o-f this invention, but it is preferred to rotate the screws at twice their regular speed, for the reasons just stated. The essence of the invention resides in the operation of the matrix feeding means at a slower rate of speed than that of the screws, and preferably at half the rate, in order that the matrices may be fed to the screws at every other rotation thereof. It has heretofore been proposed, in adapting the quarter-inch pitch screws to handle thick matrices, to render the lifting linger momentarily inactive each time a thick matrix is fed to the screws, so as to delay the feeding of the following matrix to the screws. In these prior arrangements, the

vlifting finger is operated at each rotation of the screws, as usual, but it is caused to make an'idle stroke after feeding a thick matrix to the screws, being controlled in its action by the matrices themselves. @ne of the dificulties of such arrangements is that the actual rate of distribution of the matrices is seriously cut down, owing to the irregular feed of the matrices by reason of the idle strokes made by the lifting finger, not to mention the uncertainty in action of the automatic devices which are necessarily required. It can be seen without further discussion that the present arrangement is radically different from these prior constructions.

It is pointed out that while the threads ofthe distributor screw herein shown and described are of the quarter-inch pitch variety, it might be found advantageous to vary their pitch and change the rate of reciprocation of the matrix lifting finger accordingly. In other words, and as previously mentioned, the decreased angularity of low-pitch screws has certain advantages over those of greater pitch and these advantages might well be amplified by employing screws of even less than a quarter-inch pitch. Of course, in such event, the rotational rate of the screws would have to be increased and the ratio of the gear H2 and pinion E2 modified to suit in order to obtain the best results.

Having thus described my invention, its construction and mode of operation, what I claim and desire to secure. by Letters Patent of the United States, is as follows:

l. In a typographical distributing mechanism, the -combination of a set of rotatable matrix conveying screws, means for .feeding matrices to the screws, and means for operating the matrix feeding means at such rate of speed as to cause the matrices to be engaged by nonconsecutive convolutions of the screws, for the pur ose described.

2. In a typograp ical distributing mechanism, the combination of a set of rotatable matrix conveying screws, a reciprocating finger for feeding matrices to the screws, and means for operating said finger at a rate of reciprocation less than the rate of rotation of the screws.

3. In a typographical distributing mecha* nism, the combination of a set of rotatable matrix conveying screws, a reciprocating finger for feeding matrices to the screws, and means for operating said finger at every other rotation of the screws, so as to cause the matrices to be engaged by the alternate convolutions of the screws as they are carried along thereby.

nism, the combination of a set of rotatable matrix conveying screws, a reciprocating finger for feeding matrices to the screws, a rotatable cam for operating the reciprocating finger, and means for rotating said cam at half the rate of rotation of the conveying screws. p

6. In a typographical distributing mecha nism, the combination of a set of rotatable matrix conveying screws, 'a reciprocating` finger for feeding matrices to the screws, a rotatable stub shaft arranged parallel to one of the screw spindles and provided with a cam for operating the reciprocating finger. and reducing gearing connecting the stub shaft and screw spindle, whereby the matrix feeding finger will be operated at a speed less than that of the conveying screws for the purpose described.

7 In a typographical distributing mechanism, the combination of a set of rotatable matrix conveying screws, and means for feeding matrices to the screws at every other rotation thereof irrespective of the relative thickness of said matrices.

8. A combination as set forth in claim l, characterized by the fact that the matrix conveying screws are rotated at twice their standard speed, while the matrix feeding Y LUTHER E. MORRISON. 

